Council compensates homeless man

Andrew Keddie

Scottish Borders Council paid an undisclosed sum in compensation to a man who lost some of his possessions after being told to leave a homeless unit provided by the local authority.

The payment was made after the man took his complaint to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO).

Reporting on the case last month, the watchdog reveals that the man, referred to as Mr C, had been staying in temporary homeless accommodation and, although he did not wish to leave, his place was cancelled because he had been “spending time elsewhere”.

“The council put his belongings into storage, but did not take an inventory,” says the SPSO report.

“Mr C complained to us that the council had acted unreasonably in not accepting arrangements he had made for his belongings to be delivered to a family member and for disposing of his belongings without compensating him for his loss.

“After we discussed this with the council, they told us they were reviewing their practices about storage and agreed to resolve the complaint by meeting Mr C’s claim for the loss of his belongings.”